Diabetes is a condition that affects about 8.5% of adults in the world. It is a major cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks, stroke, and lower limb amputation. Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs when either the pancreas does not provide enough insulin, or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood sugar. Raised blood sugar, or hyperglycemia, is a common effect of uncontrolled diabetes, and can lead to serious complications and damage to the body.
People with diabetes need to monitor their blood sugar multiple times a day. Typically, this is performed with a glucometer which measures glucose levels using a sample of the user's blood. Glucometers generally require a pin prick or other invasive method to obtain a blood sample from a user. The pin prick can be painful, discomforting, and disruptive to a person's routine. Some patients can even develop callouses on their fingers from continuous finger pricking. As a result, people with diabetes cannot, and often do not, check their blood glucose levels as often as recommended. Some new blood sugar testing systems perform continuous glucose monitoring through skin contact. Glucose measurements obtained from skin samples, however, are less accurate than the traditional glucometer. Consequently, a reliable, less invasive method of testing glucose levels in diabetics is needed.